Texas Rangers, Detroit Tigers appear to be losing interest in Boston Red Sox's Mike Lowell.

ANAHEIM -- Mike Lowell is doing his part in trying to prove he could be a useful piece to another club, collecting four hits in a game Saturday night and batting .357 (5 for 14) overall in the first three games of his rehab assignment for Triple-A Pawtucket.

Lowell

But the two teams that have shown the most interest in Lowell, the Texas Rangers and Detroit Tigers, appear headed in other directions. The Rangers, who had a scout in Pawtucket for Lowell's first game, are closing in on a deal with the Marlins for right-handed hitting infielder Jorge Cantu, a major league source said Monday, which would eliminate Lowell from Texas' list. There are other teams -- the Rockies and Giants -- also bidding for Cantu, the source said, but he asserted that the Marlins are well down the road with Texas, as long as the commissioner's office signs off on the financials of the deal.

Meanwhile, the Tigers sent two scouts to Pawtucket, including amateur scouting director David Chadd, who used to hold the same position with Boston. But over the weekend, the Tigers lost two key run producers to injuries, Magglio Ordonez and Carlos Guillen, both players winding up on the DL. The Tigers are actively looking for bats, but one big league source with direct knowledge of the Tigers' thinking said it's unlikely Detroit will deal for Lowell.

Gordon Edes is ESPNBoston.com's Red Sox reporter. He has covered the Red Sox for 12 years and has reported on baseball for 25 years. Ask a question for his next mailbag here.

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